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Iowa lawmakers OK deer hunting with semi-automatic rifles

These things always remind me of the comedy routine, can’t remember who but it was: hunting today is the equivalent of going into yard backyard and shooting your sofa
 
These things always remind me of the comedy routine, can’t remember who but it was: hunting today is the equivalent of going into yard backyard and shooting your sofa
Well ok, I mean I guess you could go into a public hunting ground with a markedly less accurate blunderbuss if you really wanted to recreate the historical effect. Or, you could go to the zoo and jump into the bear exhibit.
 
I know you can get a 450 bushmaster in an AR platform, and I know the cartridge already meets the current criteria for some Iowa deer hunting seasons. Was that only for bolt/lever/SS actions up until now?
 
I know you can get a 450 bushmaster in an AR platform, and I know the cartridge already meets the current criteria for some Iowa deer hunting seasons. Was that only for bolt/lever/SS actions up until now?
"What calibers are legal for deer hunting in Iowa 2021?"


45-70 Govt, . 460 S&W and . 500 S&W.

When I had my Winchester looked at by a gunsmith last summer, he was telling me I could use it to hunt deer that year but that this was a change that would only last for that year. And this is the .30 caliber rifle that was known for being deadly to deer and bears for over a century. But that was not enough for the Iowa DNR. Not complaining, killing should be as merciful as possible. (My Winchester is just an antique wall hanger I was thinking of plinking with.)
 
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Deer hunters would be able to use semi-automatic rifles during a newly created antlerless season in January under a bill approved by lawmakers Tuesday and sent to the governor.


The measure given final approval by the House is designed to help control the deer population and respond to complaints that excess deer eat corn and are hazardous to motorists.


“The purpose of this season is not to hunt for sport but to manage the size of the herd, which is why more efficient and effective firearms are being authorized,” said Republican Sen. Ken Rozenboom, of Oskaloosa


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Charles City Democratic Rep. Todd Prichard, a former active-duty U.S. Army soldier and now a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, opposed the bill. He noted the AR-15-type rifles allowed for hunting were similar to those he was trained to use in the military and that ammunition authorized in the bill can travel up to 2½ miles.


He said he had about 200 hours of basic rifle marksmanship training to learn how to handle similar weapons and be combat certified.


Prichard said his home is close enough to the edge of town that such weapons fired from hunting areas near Charles City could put his family within the reach of bullets fired from such weapons.


Deer hunting with AR-15 rifles is allowed in other states. Many states have restrictions for when they can be used and regulate the type of ammunition allowed.

Been deer hunting w/ a semi auto in iowa for years. Its nothing new, its just allowing it late season in addition to the December season.
 
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I’m fine with this but I wish they had limited the use of a rifle to a deer stand. That would lessen the chance the round goes flying hundreds of meters and hurts someone else.
 
No, and this is just more ignorance. The standard "ar" shoots a 22 caliber bullet. (.223). The DNR has already said that round is not effective enough in killing for deer. It would allow "ar 10" a larger frame, much more expensive rifle to be used. That may be similar to the 500 dollar guy.
Nope. 350 legend, 450 bushmaster, 458 soccom, 50 beowolf all in the small and all (outside of the 458) have been legal for years.
 
Should just be 12 and 20 gauge slugs.
If your drunk army can’t “harvest” enough that way I guess it’s Casey’s Pizza for dinner.
Cant tell if you're overestimating the ballistics of the various rifle cartridges or underestimating the ballistics of the slugs. Either way, ignorance on display.
 
The "thought" behind developing a .223 caliber weapon for battle in Vietnam, was to wound rather than kill as the logistics in that environment to deal with WIAs would be a bigger logistical nightmare than tagging and bagging.
Where do people come up with this crap? The thought was the "winner" in wars are typically the groups that can lay down more suppressive fire, and the 5.56 allowed for more rounds to be carried on a solider due to lighter weight and smaller dimensions of the cartridge itself.
 
"What calibers are legal for deer hunting in Iowa 2021?"


45-70 Govt, . 460 S&W and . 500 S&W.

When I had my Winchester looked at by a gunsmith last summer, he was telling me I could use it to hunt deer that year but that this was a change that would only last for that year. And this is the .30 caliber rifle that was known for being deadly to deer and bears for over a century. But that was not enough for the Iowa DNR. Not complaining, killing should be as merciful as possible. (My Winchester is just an antique wall hanger I was thinking of plinking with.)
n0bHBVx.png
 
Where do people come up with this crap? The thought was the "winner" in wars are typically the groups that can lay down more suppressive fire, and the 5.56 allowed for more rounds to be carried on a solider due to lighter weight and smaller dimensions of the cartridge itself.
My god……
 
I'm right. Hence the questions regarding the new cartridge the military just adopted to eventually phase out the 5.56.
You're not, Honey! lol Tell what the "combat load" was at the time? Also, must be why all those grunts chose the extended magazine 12 gauge with 3" mag. 00 buck?! Those rounds; not to mention the weapon itself, were as light as a feather!! 🤣 🤣 🤣
 
You know for a fact he was hit with a .223??

Nope, sure don’t. Neither did the person you quoted. I don’t know what that has to do with the fact you said they made up the part about needing DNA testing to help identify some of the victims. They clearly didn’t make that up, which is what I replied to.

If you want to get really technical though, that same post you quoted didn’t mention caliber at all. They just said AR bullet. You know as well as I do that the AR platform comes in a NUMBER of different calibers.

But again, that has nothing to do with what you called made up and I responded to.

Not that any of this will matter to you, so never mind . Carry on.
 
You're not, Honey! lol Tell what the "combat load" was at the time? Also, must be why all those grunts chose the extended magazine 12 gauge with 3" mag. 00 buck?! Those rounds; not to mention the weapon itself, were as light as a feather!! 🤣 🤣 🤣
That was a lot of incoherent blathering. Can you organize and clarify your thoughts?
 
nope, not statewide. Its always been county by county and the amount/counties fluctuates every year, but they have late antlerless every year.
nope, not statewide. Its always been county by county and the amount/counties fluctuates every year, but they have late antlerless every year.
nope, not statewide. Its always been county by county and the amount/counties fluctuates every year, but they have late antlerless every year.
And I wish they wouldn’t. Too many mature antlerless bucks get shot. Do it in September or not at all
 
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I thought of asking if an AR bullet was big enough to kill a deer. I didn't think so but then I thought about how it did enough damage to a kid to make them need to do DNA testing to identify them, it could kill a deer as well. But I'm no expert on these things.
It is, some states allow you to hunt deer with a .223. Nebraska does, but it still restricts the magazine to 5 rounds. A .223 will shoot through a 2x4, a 30.06 will shoot through a rail road tie.

Calibres-de-Chasse-1.jpg
 
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From a purely technical perspective, you are correct. Some will argue that people shooting a semi-auto are more indiscriminate with their shots because they can fire faster, without potentially taking their eyes off the target. While it's possible to chamber a round with a bolt or lever action with the gun still on your shoulder, that takes a little practice.

From my perspective, the objective should be to kill the deer as efficiently and humanely as possible. I personally wouldn't choose a .223 for anything bigger than a coyote. My choices would be .30-06, .30-.30, or .308 for deer. Most AR style rifles are .223.
.300 Blackout would work very nicely. Much closer to a .30-30.
 
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But thats not true - its an unrealized concern.
It is true, look at the DNR numbers when they tracked shed bucks that were killed. Why have it in January? I’m still Ok with harvesting ( not hunting) that the Orange army does, add this in in September so fewer big does turn into shed bucks.
 
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It is true, look at the DNR numbers when they tracked shed bucks that were killed. Why have it in January? I’m still Ok with harvesting ( not hunting) that the Orange army does, add this in in September so fewer big does turn into shed bucks.
If it were detrimental to the herd and/or the revenue it brings, the DNR wouldn't allow it.
 
I thought of asking if an AR bullet was big enough to kill a deer. I didn't think so but then I thought about how it did enough damage to a kid to make them need to do DNA testing to identify them, it could kill a deer as well. But I'm no expert on these things.

The part that people like to gloss over with assault rifles is the muzzle velocity. A .223 or 5.56 round is not a big round, that is true. Shot at 3000+ FPS makes it extremely powerful. The ability to rapidly/accurately fire 30 high velocity rounds with a quick reload is a deadly combo.

"It's just a semi automatic rifle that shoots .223 rounds" doesn't sound that bad. Kind of sounds like the .22 I used to shoot with my grandfather as a kid when I was learning to shoot. That was semi auto also. No big deal. It used to take me a minute or so to reload that rifle.

"It's just a semi auto lightweight rifle with high capacity magazines, quick/easy reload, low recoil, and extremely high muzzle velocity that can shatter bone" sounds worse.

.22 LR round compared to .223. The bullet is the same diameter. Note the difference in the cartridge.

.22 LR muzzle velocity will usually be around 1000 FPS. The AR-15 rounds will be three times that.

main-qimg-c7161a8861d374d26b3ff94f72e66cb1-lq
 
Somebody will get killed by a stray round while in their yard or home.

Its “when” not “if” IMO
 
The part that people like to gloss over with assault rifles is the muzzle velocity. A .223 or 5.56 round is not a big round, that is true. Shot at 3000+ FPS makes it extremely powerful. The ability to rapidly/accurately fire 30 high velocity rounds with a quick reload is a deadly combo.

"It's just a semi automatic rifle that shoots .223 rounds" doesn't sound that bad. Kind of sounds like the .22 I used to shoot with my grandfather as a kid when I was learning to shoot. That was semi auto also. No big deal. It used to take me a minute or so to reload that rifle.

"It's just a semi auto lightweight rifle with high capacity magazines, quick/easy reload, low recoil, and extremely high muzzle velocity that can shatter bone" sounds worse.

.22 LR round compared to .223. The bullet is the same diameter. Note the difference in the cartridge.

.22 LR muzzle velocity will usually be around 1000 FPS. The AR-15 rounds will be three times that.

main-qimg-c7161a8861d374d26b3ff94f72e66cb1-lq
You make good points, but a .223 is still significantly less effective at killing large game compared to anything in the .30 caliber range. Hunting should be as humane as possible.
 
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